No Bounds
by SMYGO4EVA
Summary: Oneshot. Kurogane/Sakura. The princess wanted to fight, so she found someone who was willing.


No Bounds  
By SMYGO4EVA

The blades clashed together in one united strike, sparks flying from the twin impact. A heated battle was taking place, this time between a fragile princess and a strong warrior. No thing was ever heard of, but this was just a training session, and what a training session it was.

Princess Sakura gripped the handle of her sword tightly; she couldn't believe she, a mere princess from Clow Country was actually fighting against Kurogane, a great comrade, but also a powerful warrior from the country of Nihon.

This wasn't what she normally would do; whenever she wanted to help Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona, she would suddenly fall asleep (which is nothing new) and Syaoran would panic and say that she shouldn't be doing anything so dangerous, especially with Kurogane's lust for battle.

Syaoran would think that she was made of glass now, ever since he found out about his true self back in Tokyo, and Sakura couldn't stand it. She'd feel much better if they all left her alone. Maybe then they wouldn't get hurt.

Sakura pushed her sword against Kurogane's powerful sword Ginryū, feeling the pulsations against her own weapon, her eyes locked in the warrior's crimson gaze, the thrill of a battle evident in his eyes.

"Too slow."

A breath lodged itself in Sakura's throat.

A push of Kurogane's sword against hers, and Sakura jumped, shocked, and nearly backed away. The warrior swung his weapon against hers, slashing the blade left and right, once, twice, thrice and one final strike on her blade, before she forced the sharp edge outward, near parallel to his throat, whereas the warrior rose his blade and placed it near her neck as well, the sharp edge fatal if moved across swiftly.

Sakura froze in her stance, the blade upon her throat cold as ice, gripping her sword tightly until she thought her hand would break from her own force upon it. She set her emerald eyes upon the satisfied, wolfish grin slowly emerging on the warrior's face.

She gulped.

It is clear that he had won.

They lifted the blades from each other's throats. Sakura tried to catch her breath, while noticing that Kurogane didn't even look fazed. He looked very calm and very content with himself – it was as if he lived for battle, but didn't show it.

"Not bad," Kurogane says. "For the first time anyway."

Sakura can't avoid the blush that sets itself on her face. The warrior was one who certainly lived up to his title in battle and for him to give her a compliment on her less than exemplary sword skills… it was surprising to say the least. It felt…good. It felt good to be known by someone else for something other than her lineage or her sweet nature.

The smile disappeared, only to be replaced with a stern expression on his face. "There is room for improvement," Kurogane continues. He looked away as he stated, "You're in no shape to fight another opponent, at least not yet. You need to build up your strength and you need to have more endurance. You also need to be able to control your emotions – in battle you anger too easily, and you worry too much."

Uneasiness settled in the pit of Sakura's stomach once again.

Kurogane looked back at the girl. "But still – nice job."

"Thank you," Sakura said at last. It was nice to hear that someone appreciated her, that someone thinks she's something other than just the pretty little girl in a group of boys and a white manjuu, the princess of Clow Country.

"No problem." Kurogane walked up to her, almost towering over her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up, fearing that her cheeks would become rosy again. It was just that…they were so close to each other…closer than they had ever been…almost…

"I'm sure that after a few more lessons, you should be stronger. If not – I'll just have to see to that."

The princess blinked, let a smile flute across her face, and nodded her head. "Thank you, Kurogane-san."

Later, when she watched Kurogane and Syaoran train, Sakura isn't sure whether it was Syaoran or Kurogane she wanted to win.

The princess wanted to fight, so she found someone who was willing. And it was to be a tough lesson to hold a weapon against another human being, but when it came to the warrior, there were no bounds then.


End file.
